Special Features

A-Mei

"I just hope to perform on the mainland as soon as possible... I am not a politician, but a singer with innocent beliefs [and] I just want to express myself in my music." -A*Mei

A*Mei is one of China and Taiwan's most popular and successful singers. Her contemporary music and image have made her an icon to many teenage girls, and her albums regularly sell millions of copies.

SEX APPEAL

It is her sex appeal and her status as a sex symbol that is A*Mei's trademark. Though Asian culture has dramatically opened up over the last decade, A*Mei's overt sexiness still caused some stirs among conservative Chinese. But her attractiveness helped our voting panel get over her music that can get, at times, more annoying than inspiring.

SUCCESS

The banning incident helped her get her name out, though it did little to generate international demand. Even without success in North America and Europe, A*Mei has had a very accomplished career. She could have guessed she was going to have a successful career when her first album Sisters sold over 1 million copies, and spent 15 weeks in the number one position.

A-Mei Biography

Chang Huei-mei (known to fans as A-Mei) was born August 9, 1972, in Eastern Taiwan, the third youngest of 8 siblings. A-Mei has both of her parents to thank for her successful music career.

Like mother like daughter, A-Mei's mom, Wang Yu Mei, brought the passion of music into the house, when A-Mei was young. Also a singer, her mother used to record herself singing, and then playback the tape for her daughters to hear. She supported and guided the musical talent that A-Mei's millions of fans witness today.

show us what you've got

While her mother helped form the foundation of A-Mei's talent, her father gave her that extra push, by encouraging her to enter a televised singing contest called "Five Lights Singing Contest." Her father was ill at the time, and he wanted to see his daughter follow her dream and show off her skills. A-Mei hoped that winning the contest would give her father the willpower to fight his sickness, but unfortunately, he passed away before her victory.

After some aimless time of not knowing what to do next, A-Mei's musician cousin invited her to sing vocals for his rock band. And it's a good thing she went -- A-Mei and the rock band headed to Taipei and played their music in local pubs, which is how A-Mei practiced and develop her skills to perform for a live audience. This is also where excited fans began referring to the energetic performer as A-Mei.

Coupled with A-Mei's newfound passion for performing live was her opportunity to sing the theme song for a Taiwanese television show. Word of A-Mei's talent was spreading, and she was finally discovered by a talent scout and signed to Forward Music, a small record company in Taiwan.

an instant sensation

After recording a duet, "The One Who Loved Me Most, Hurt Me The Most," with popular male singer Zhang Yu-Sheng (who approached her), A-Mei's first album was finally released in 1996. Jei Mei was an instant smash, with a lot of airplay and constant staying power on the charts.

A-Mei was a hit, and with three albums, she has become one of the most successful musical artists in Chinese pop history.

Despite (or because of) her success, A-Mei and her music suffered a yearlong ban in China, after she sang the Taiwanese national anthem at the inauguration of President Chen Shui-bian. Even A-Mei's Sprite commercial was banned in China, until the A-Mei ban was lifted in the coutnry.

oh sherry, our cherie

Known to English fans as Sherry and Tear Princess, A-Mei speaks Taiwanese, Mandarin, Japanese, and English. Her favorite singers include Sting, Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston, whom she listens to in her free time when she's not practicing Tae Kwon-Do or playing golf.

A-Mei also founded A My-My, a project group consisting of her younger sister and her cousin.

Thanks to her rock-western sound blended in with hip-hop and pop, energetic live performances and sexy image, A-Mei became an overnight success who is sure to stick around for quite a while, despite controversy.